BY SAM ALFAN.
Cambridge University Money Laundering expert has told a Nairobi Anti-corruption trial court that no due diligence was observed in signing Anglo leasing contracts between the Government of Kenya and British firms.
Professor Jason Campbell Sharman at Cambridge University, Srinivasan, a resident of Switzerland said that companies linked to the ongoing Anglo leasing cases pending in different against the Kamani’s Family are shell firms and do not exist in law.
The UK based Sharman who gave expert opinion to EACC on the police contacts awarded to companies namely sound Day Corporation and Apex Finance Corporation and infotalent Limited linked to Anglo leasing cases where the government lost billions of shillings informed trial magistrate Felix Kombo that the three were shell companies and the Kamani’s were the beneficial owners of the same.
He said that Sound day Corporation company which had been awarded a contract to supply police security equipments at Euros 40 Million Euros (Sh3.8billion) was cooperated for money laundering and corruption in British virgin Ireland.
Sharma further informed the court that contract for modernization of police equipment was signed between government of Kenya and Sound Day Corporation but paid Apex Finance Corporation.
According to documents tabled in court Sound Day is one of the firms that has been linked to the Anglo Leasing cases, but Prof. Sharma said that he established that the Kamanis were the beneficial owners of the same company, which was to supply the police equipment and their link to Apex finance Corporation was to seek finance for the projects.
He said that from a resolution from board of directors of Sound Day Corporation that the beneficial owners are Rashmi Chamanlal Kamani, Deepak Chamanlal Kamani and Chamanla Vrajlal Kamani.
“This unambiguously demonstrates that the Kamani’s are the real actors in control of both companies and their bank accounts at Midland Bank,” said the expert.
Sharman was testifying in a case where the three businessmen namely Rasmi, Deepak and Chamanlal are charged alongside former Internal Security PS Dave Mwangi, former Finance Minister the late David Mwiraria, Joseph Magari and David Onyonka with Anglo leasing charges of conspiracy to defraud the government 40 Million Euros (Sh3.8billion). They have since denied.
The court heard that Sound Day Corporation on the other hand was incorporated on September 21,2089 in the British virgin Islands while Apex Finance Corporation is a shell company which was first incorporated in Mauritius on January 1998.
Sharman said that there was no document to demonstrate that the ghost company had a history of any business financing activity prior to the contract between Sound Day corporation and the Government of Kenya signed on December 17,2003 as alleged by the defence.
“This contract resulted to payment to Apex Finance Corporation dated March 23,2004 and later transferred on April 8,2004 as evidenced in the bank information available. For the government of Kenya to have signed a major financial deal with a company entirely lacking substance or track record, with so little duo diligence,” said the witness.
According to a report tabled in court prepared by the expert, showed that to bank account opening statements and the account statements Infotalent Ltd also had no history of any business activity prior to E-Cops contract with the Kenya Government that was signed on November 19,2003.
“Infotalent had no history of financial activity prior to the first payment from the government of Kenya to sign a major procurement and financing deal of Euros 59,688,250 with a company lacking in substance or business or financial track record, with so little due diligence, and such at disadvantageous terms to the Kenya, seems highly incongruous, as discussed in the Kenya National Audit Office report dated April 2006 prepared by the then Auditor General,” said the witness.
“Infotalent Ltd is a classic shell company in its lack of substance and its function in obscuring the identities of the real (beneficial) owners that was incorporated on July 1,2003 at British Virgirn Islands, said Sharman.
He said that it is clear that a declaration of beneficial ownership provided to HSBC Republic Bank(Suisse) that the real beneficial owners of infotalent are the Rashmi and Deepak Kamani as evidenced by their signed declaration and the passport copies provided proving their identities.
“Furthermore, it is clear that infotalent was established in such a way as to obscure the Kamani’s control over the company and its doings, specifically the directorship arrangements involved a chain of shell companies, rather that the Kamanis themselves,” said the expert.
The court heard that the existence of a shell company director belies the claim in Infotalent’s correspondence with the government of Kenyan 2003 that the director was a top US whistle blower Bradley Birkenfeld.
He said that the incorporation of Infotalent in British virgin Islands meant also that there was no public record of legal and beneficial ownership.
The court heard that Sound Day Corporation on the other hand was incorporated on September 21,2089 in the British virgin Islands while Apex Finance Corporation is a shell company which was first incorporated in Mauritius on January 1998.
Sharman said that there was no document to demonstrate that the company had a history of any business financing activity prior to the contract between Sound Day corporation and the Government of Kenya signed on December 17,2003 as alleged by the defence.
“This contract resulted to payment to Apex Finance Corporation dated March 23,2004 and later transferred on April 8,2004 as evidenced in the bank information available. For the government of Kenya to have signed a major financial deal with a company entirely lacking substance or track record, with so little duo diligence,” said the witness.
He said that he further also established that there was no due diligence and the contract entered between Kenyan government as the same had none competitive bid.
“The combination of all this made me conclude that the business of the companies was consistence with money laundering and corruption,” said Sharma.
According to the bank statements that he received during his investigation shows that most of the money paid to Apex Finance corporation was from Kenya government.
Sharman during examination by defence lawyer Ahmednasir Abdulahi said that he based his opinion on the report following documents he received from the Auditor General and the EACC.
He further said that he is not aware that the companies had from the year 1993 been supplying police security equipment to the government.
It is said that the government procurement for the police equipment became a high priority project after the bombing terrorist in US.
